Dispatch from the scooter wars

Scooter-sharing pioneers Bird and Lime deactivated their fleets in Santa Monica, Calif., this week to protest city officials signaling that rival companies Jump, owned by Uber, and Lyft may soon get exclusive licenses to operate in the city.

The move was prompted by the city's disclosure that applications from Jump and Lyft for permits granting exclusive rights to run dockless scooter services were the leading contenders, despite neither company operating in the area.

Ironically, the actions by Bird and Lime, which included providing incentives for irate users to rally at City Hall and lobby officials, mirror the strategy of two upstart mobility companies from a few years ago: Uber and Lyft.

The comparison seems dramatic, especially coming from a company that was the fastest startup to achieve a billion-dollar valuation. But it's not radical to say Uber and Lyft have consolidated competitive advantages in operational power that would be tough for any challenger to take on.

Regardless of whether Bird and Lime win this battle, they're just getting started in figuring out how to bend regulators to the companies' will.

— Shiraz Ahmed

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Bloomberg

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